Michele Lewis, LISW, LCSW

Michele Lewis is a licensed social worker with 26 years of experience who helps people navigate major life stresses and loss. She welcomes people who are dealing with grief, trauma, anxiety, depression, caregiver strain, chronic illness, or questions about identity and purpose. Michele offers a calm, nonjudgmental space where people can speak honestly and begin to feel more like themselves.

Her style blends supportive listening with concrete skills work. Michele uses approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, cognitive behavioral techniques, mindfulness, and emotionally focused ideas to help people reduce anxiety and manage low mood. She also draws on client-centered principles that keep each person’s priorities in focus.

Michele has worked extensively with older adults and caregivers, and she brings that experience to conversations about aging, end-of-life concerns, and chronic health challenges. She helps caregivers process grief and the stress that comes with long-term care. She also supports people facing identity questions, codependency, and career stress.

Sessions are structured to identify what matters most to the person and then build small, practical steps toward those goals. Michele emphasizes emotional expression, mood management, and finding a healthier balance between work and life. Over time clients practice new habits that make day-to-day challenges easier to handle.

Michele holds a Master of Social Work and is licensed in Missouri and Iowa as an LISW and LCSW. She schedules some evening and weekend appointments to help fit therapy into busy lives and uses her decades of practice to tailor each plan to the person in front of her.

How Michele’s approaches work well online

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on clarifying what matters to you and taking small steps toward those values. It helps when life feels stuck or when depression and anxiety get in the way of living the life you want. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions interact and offers practical tools to change unhelpful patterns like worry or low mood. Client-Centered Therapy creates a supportive environment where the person leads the pace and topics, helping people feel heard and understood.

Finding the best approach is collaborative. Michele will talk with a person about goals, try methods that fit their needs, and adjust plans as progress or new concerns appear. The choice of techniques comes from what the person finds useful in real life, not from a fixed menu.

Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week by removing commute time and allowing evening or weekend scheduling. It can also let someone choose a quieter space, use phone-only check-ins if needed, or keep sessions shorter when that fits better with work or caregiving duties. Confirm current session formats and scheduling options before booking so you know what to expect.